Description of Eyre Peninsula tours in South Australia

With a ruggedly beautiful coast backed by the peaks and escarpments of the Flinders Ranges, the Eyre Peninsula is definitely one of Australia’s unsung wonders. It’s a place of vivid colours, red rock landscapes and few visitors. It’s also one of the world’s best places to encounter marine life.

This tour is a camping adventure. By day, you’ll be travelling and exploring, but by night you will sleep like a true Aussie bushman in swags. Relax each evening around the camp fire with a beer, swapping tales with your new travelling mates before sleeping in the peace under the dazzling stars of the southern skies, with koalas keeping you company in the surrounding trees. We travel in an air conditioned minibus, max 18 people, bush camping with no facilities or staying in simple campsites with basic facilities.

This six day tour is packed with highlights. Camp in Warren Gorge in the Southern Flinders Ranges, keeping an eye out for the yellow footed rock wallabies that are ‘bouncing back’ here from near extinction. Try boarding down giant sand dunes, check out the spectacular cliffs at Locks Well and meet koalas and other native wildlife at Mikkira Station.

Most activities and excursions are included in the trip price but there are a couple of optional experiences, too. You can choose to join an excursion to swim with sea lions and dolphins at Baird Bay, which costs $180 per person. This is a wonderful chance to swim with both creatures, watching how they interact with each other and you. Australian sea lions are endangered, and behave very much like puppies, playing, jumping and twirling in front of you – they might even give you a kiss! Seeing them alongside enchanting bottle nose dolphins, too, is an experience you won’t forget quickly.

Anyone after an adrenaline rush can opt to go cage diving with great white sharks ($395 + $100 on board) operated by Calypso Star Charters. This takes place in Port Lincoln, the only location in Australia where you can be lowered into the sea in a cage alongside these amazing predators. It’s quite an experience – thrilling and scary!

Travel Team

If you'd like to chat about this holiday or need help finding one we're very happy to help. The Travel Team.

Small group travel is not large group travel scaled down. It is modelled on independent travel – but with the advantage of a group leader to take care of the itinerary, accommodation and tickets, and dealing with the language. It’s easy to tick off the big sights independently – but finding those one-off experiences, local festivals, travelling markets and secret viewpoints is almost impossible for someone without the insider knowledge gained from years in the field. If you’re heading off on a gap year your, perhaps – but for those with a two-week holiday, a small group tour will save valuable planning time.

The leaders are not guides – they’re not there to shepherd you around. Instead, they’ll let you know which local restaurant serves great value food – without running the risk of travellers’ tummy. They’ll allow you to avoid hour-long queues at train stations and attractions.

We like to think of small group travel as the Goldilocks option. It is independent travel without the fuss, worry and bunk beds – and organised travel without the coaches. And it’s cheaper than a tailor made tour. It’s sits somewhere in the middle – and we think it’s just about right.

What are the main benefits?

Big experiences
Have big, life-enriching experiences that would be impossible to organise without lots of time and insider knowledge.

Simplicity
Make the most of your holiday time by letting someone else do the hard work and boring logistics!

Peace of mind
Small group tours take care of the security aspects – and provide a safety net should anything unexpected happen.

Who is it ideal for?

Travellers who are short of time
If you don’t have three months to spend exploring, small groups trips let you cover more ground in less time. Your days are not spent queuing for tickets or finding hotels – so you can squeeze more into your holiday.

Solo travellers who’d like company
Likeminded travel companions plus peace of mind for those travelling alone. Single supplements are usually available – providing privacy if you want it.

Less confident travellers
Stray from the tourist trail without worrying about getting lost, and meet local people without dealing with the language barrier.

Mythbuster

“I won’t get any privacy!”
Couples and friends have private rooms, and you can choose to eat alone or not. Single supplements give solo travellers their own room.

“There won’t be any free time”
Free mornings or afternoons let you explore on your own, or just relax.

“The accommodation will be basic”Trips are as high or low end as you like. Though off the beaten track destinations won’t have luxury hotels, this is all part of the adventure.

“I won’t like the other travellers!”
Tour operators try to create groups with a similar demographic – age, families, activity levels... Chances are, you’ll even make new friends.

“Will we be following an umbrella?”
No.

Meet a group leader

As well as taking care of all the day-to-day practicalities, your group leader is the one who will turn your trip into an adventure. Leaders are extraordinary characters – the kind of person who has spent 14 Christmas days on the slopes of Mount Everest, runs marathons wearing tiger suits to raise funds for their conservation and thinks nothing of leading an overland trip in Sudan or Afghanistan. Fearless and inspiring, group leaders are as important as the destination itself.

Meet a local guide

No matter how experienced your group leader, they can never make up for the knowledge gained from a lifetime in the destination. That’s why many of our trips work with local guides around the world – who invite you into their homeland with pleasure. As well as doing crazy things like climbing Kilimanjaro 100 times, they also donate their time to local projects supported by travellers – such as rebuilding Sri Lankan villages following the 2004 tsunami.

Responsible tourism

Responsible tourism: Eyre Peninsula tours in South Australia

Environment

Environmental sustainability is deeply ingrained into our company culture and we are totally committed to the preservation of our natural environment for generations to come. We are proudly an Eco-certified tour company meaning our tours adhere to best practice and standards for environmentally responsible tourism.

We are the only company in Australia that offsets its carbon footprint internally by planting 1.2 hectares of native vegetation on our property Coodlie Park Farm Retreat each year with one third of the property being set aside for environmental rehabilitation. Some of our other environmental practices include:

• 100% carbon neutral business• Eco Tourism Australia Accredited• Climate action certified as a ‘Climate Change Innovator’• Our guides have extensive knowledge on native plants and animals, indigenous culture and eco-tourism and will share this knowledge with our passengers• We spend over $10,000 annually on our efforts to reduce our carbon footprint• In addition we contribute $15,000 annually with in-kind labour• We have invested $40,000 in rainwater tanks and plumbing over the past 10 years• We pay a premium for all of our ‘green energy’ electricity produced from renewable sources• We are a certified WWOOF farm for volunteer workers

Many Nullarbor Traveller passengers over the years have stopped and immersed themselves in a real Aussie farm experience, rolled up their sleeves and done some hard yakka which is their way of giving something back to the planet. We welcome travellers who share the same philosophy to come and stay with us for a couple of night or a couple of weeks to give back to the environment and offset their own travel carbon footprint.

Our travellers are typically like minded – aged between 20 and 45 looking for a unique and authentic Australian experience but this trip will appeal to travellers of all ages who enjoy meeting new people as well as seeing new places. Wildlife enthusiasts can also enjoy the opportunity of whale-watching and to swim with sea lions and dolphins in a natural environment.

Part of the outback experience is to see native animals and local flora in their environment. Our guides all have a keen interest and respect for our flora and fauna. Wildlife is viewed but never provoked, chased or cornered. We explain to our passengers that noise must be kept to a minimum, to avoid rapid or sudden movement and to avoid camera flashes and to use safe night lights. Disturbance of flora is kept to an absolute minimum.

Camp sites are always chosen to ensure little or no impact to the environment occurs. Due to the arid and isolated nature of the areas we visit an understanding of minimal water use is essential. All water is carried in and grey water carried out. We purchase reusable items (utensils and containers) and buy food in bulk with minimal packaging. All waste is carried out and disposed of in an appropriate manner. We collect and thoughtfully dispose of any rubbish sighted in the parks visited. We retain and dispose of our own rubbish in a similar manner. We minimise the use of disposable packaging and recycle all catering items where possible.

Where other organizations or community groups are involved, we pay entry fees, make purchases and create economic revenue. All catering is arranged or purchased locally or home made. Our tour group sizes are limited to 21 people maximum, this size group can be managed to minimise any negative impact on the environment, the enjoyment of other people, the capacity of community services, the safety and stress of wildlife. We encourage the practice of low noise bush walking and special solo activities making our guests at one with the environment.

We minimise the use of our tour vehicle in preference for walking, travelling only on formed roads and tracks, applying the annual recorded mileage to a carbon offset program. Vehicle fuel and service requirements are purchased locally. We conduct our operations from our home and have a policy of recycling all materials but essentially paper, clerical supplies, minimising power and water usage, recycle bottles, cans and sort all other tins, glass and plastics for collection. Our vehicles are serviced and maintained after each trip by a certified mechanic to ensure that they operate at peak efficiency. Any localized servicing or emergency repairs are done en-route

Community

For the business to grow and be recognised for its vital contribution to the local economies, it is important to ‘shop local’ where possible. We continue to build local networks and businesses to support the local economy.

We use local operators to run our optional excursions, thus ensuring that money goes directly to the supplier and the community. The nature of outback regional and rural communities ensures that local staff and produce are utilised at all times. In the remote outback towns that we visit, almost all of the businesses are run by locals and while some produce is transported in, we always give preference to local fresh produce.

We promote close relationships with our suppliers and have long standing partnerships with many. By our visits and the payment of entrance and activity fees ensure that National and Conservation Parks are able to continue their vital conservation and education work. Through annual and access fees to national park authorities we provide revenue essential to the protection and maintenance of the parks we visit. We comply with the management plans of each park and assist by reporting adverse events or special findings to the park management.

1 Reviews of Eyre Peninsula tours in South Australia

4 out of 5 stars

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Reviewed on 14 Mar 2018 by Karen Shaw

1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?

Swimming as the only group in Baird bay with sea lions and dolphins, who chose to come to see us - we were not inflicted on them - so responsible encounter.

2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?

Be aware that the 6 day Eyre Peninsula trip is sandwich in with two other tours - you go out of Adelaide for 2 days with one group (heading to Perth) and then are transferred to another group on day three (who are heading to Adelaide). Admittedly you go to different places on the way back, but also your activities are fitted in to other people doing the shark tour and with another person who joined from that and then did the sea lions then next day - so we had to fit in with them.

3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?

As mentioned above the sea lions and dolphins tour reduced environmental impact on those animals. No recycling was carried out but food was cooked from basic ingredients - cooked in pots etc and eaten off plates/cups etc which were washed and reused - so hardly any packaging/disposable materials were used and wasted. Sleeping arrangements were basic and used drop toilets with no electricity and little water used - so our footprint on the landscape was minimial. The tour operator and excursion operators were local so benefited from this tourism. so good in these respects.

4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?

Disappointed to have to change groups as loved first guide Mal and gelled with group - didn't with the second group. First experience of travel in Australia - so getting used to the long drives but bus was not very clean and no effort was made to keep it clean on the way - understandably the driver/guide had a lot of long hours of work and not time for cleaning on top. I took to cleaning the outside windows at fuel stations as getting opaque.